Resident Evil 4

STORY: 5/5: Leon S. Kennedy, four years after participating in the Raccoon City incident, is working for the Secret Service, and his first assignment is protecting the President's daughter, Ashely Graham. The day before he starts, she is kidnapped. Following a possible sighting, Leon is sent to what is apparently a small farming community in Spain. When he arrives, he is attacked by the villagers, and his two police escorts are killed. He must find Ashley, and unravel the mystery behind the village and its mysterious cult.

The length of it is good, as every step of the way uncovers new details and you are never left in an overly long sequence with no plot advancement. I am really surprised the plot was this good.

GAME DESIGN: 25/25: As you go through the plot, you are must go through five chapters, each with a certain number of subchapters. You will travel to three main areas, one of which is the village, one of which is a castle and a third which I will not reveal to you. The levels are somewhat free-roaming, as you can backtrack as you please, but eventually, areas will become cut off to you.

You will encounter many enemies along the way, of course. Don't think you'll ever be lucky enough to be one-on-one, however. Unless it is a boss character, chances are that the whole point of the encounter is to put as many angry villagers (called Ganados) in your path as possible, and make you go insane as you struggle to survive. The game is incredibly effective at making you panic, especially at times when you are inside a small house and surrounded by Ganados busting windows to get in. These are terrifying sequences, and they seem incredibly real.

The boss characters you encounter are very unique. Starting off with a battle with you in a boat, only able to use spears as a giant sea worm charges at you, sends you into driftwood, and opens its gaping jaws as you swim back to your boat, you are automatically given the impression that this game means business. The bosses that follow never quite live up to the uniqueness of that first boss, but still are all fresh and challenging.

Of course, with this many enemies there should be some cool weapons. The weapons are very traditional, which adds to the realism of the game. You will be equipped with pistols, machine guns, shotguns, rifles, magnums, grenades and the occasional rocket launcher, but it is never too far-fetched in terms of weaponry. Granted, you will encounter such odd weapons as the Mine Thrower and the Chicago Typewriter.

To give you due warning, never put down your controller. In the middle of some cinema scenes, a prompt will appear at the bottom of the screen for you to press buttons quickly to avoid death. In fact, one mini-boss battle is fought entirely in a cinema scene. This is exceptionally effective for keeping the gamer on his toes.

For much of the game, you will be with Ashley Graham, and be forced to protect her. If she dies, the game ends just like if you die. You will be only able to command her to 'wait' or 'follow' normally, though occasionally the need for other commands will arise. It is a working system, as anything more would distract from the fast-paced nature of the game. Luckily, before most big battles, you will be able to tell her to hide away in a dumpster, and once you progress further into the game, there will be more and more times where you will not have to worry about her.

The design has few if any flaws. The game is consistently heart-pounding, exciting, eventful and interesting.

PLAY CONTROL: 19/20: The controls for this game are very unique. It is from an over-the-shoulder viewpoint. You cannot move and shoot, but by pressing the right shoulder button, it will zoom in slightly and the control stick will move the gun you are holding. It is tough to explain, but while at first it seems very odd, once you get used to it, it is a wonder why this has never been used before. The only problem is that, because it is over the shoulder, most shots veer to the left. This may add to the realism and panic factors, but at times, it can be very annoying. Overall, fresh and original controls prevail, and this is a great flagship for this setup.

GRAPHICS: 20/20: The graphics are simply stunning. Looking over a village filled with insane residents carrying torches, pitchforks and the occasional chainsaw, is a very hard task to accomplish. It all looks completely real. You can sense the madness these Ganados carry with them just by looking at them. All the creatures look original and incredible. The environment has this kind of washed-out effect to it, and it seems as dreary as it could possibly be. This game is incredible at establishing a mood through the setting.

SOUND: 5/5: I never have much to say about sound, and this is no exception. The sound captures the mood perfectly, and the voice acting is spot on. But a single sound (or lack thereof) in this game can make the hairs on the back of your neck stand straight.

SATISFACTION: 24/25: This is a game that is as good as it gets. The single player is among the best I have ever had the pleasure of playing, and is very replay-able, especially once additional modes are unlocked.

TOTAL: 98%: There is very little wrong with this game. This is the best title there is for the Gamecube right now. Screw Metroid Prime, screw The Wind Waker, screw SSBM. Resident Evil 4 is the best gaming experience I have had since Ocarina of Time.

I always loved the idea of the Resident Evil games, the settings, the story lines and the atmosphere, but the games were getting repetitive, and simply the control system was plain annoying, you never truly felt involved.

I knew Resident Evil 4 was going to be a change, but what a change, if there has ever been a comeback for a gaming series then this is it. I don't care about people saying, oh there are no zombies etc.. all i know is the enemies in this game are simply better, and a whole lot of fun to fight against, the control system is a revelation, making perfect use of the control pad in what is essentially an FPS. The enemies have amazing AI, wherever you can go, they can, you will feel like you're fighting them for real, their animations are astounding, shoot them in the leg, they react exactly how would expect them to. The weapons are so satisfying, you will get such a buzz from using them.

The graphics -- i've been upgrading my PC to super levels to play Half Life 2 etc.. graphics that will blow your face away, who would have thought the Gamecube could give a visual experience to rival anything on the PC.. these are the best console graphics ever, at times you feel like you're playing an FMV, i'm being serious. The art design of this game is something only the Japanese game makers could do, there is more visual invention than any movie.

i don't normally like scary games, but this game was just too fun to miss out on, there are moments when you will get your heart beating, for once there is a real feeling of survival horror, the concept of Resident Evil has finally been fulfilled.

my only complaint is maybe the game is too short, well 20 hrs isn't short just right for this type of game, and well it was just so addictive i couldn't put it down, so really it isn't a short game, but you're having such a great time it just flies by.. even still Capcom have added some bonus games, that are actually worth your time, and will add a few more hours to it all.. i'd say a healthy 30hrs is there.

anyway -- unmissable, simply amazing. the Gamecube has few titles, but the ones that shine, really take some beating.. and although it will be coming out on the PS2 at the end of this year, Res Evil 4, is yet another strong reason for getting a Cube. STRONGLY RECOMMENDED 9.7/10

Let's start off saying RE4 is an AWESOME game! Really. one of the best games for game cube, or even of all time! When i got this game, i couldn't put it down! all the gore and guns!! it was so sweet. My favorite part of this game was of course the wonderful storyline and voice actors. it wasn't one of those stories where you just try to skip it (and believe me, i have some of those games), but this one really drew you into it. I really wanted to know everything they would say! speaking of saying, the voice actors were wonderful! i loved them! they were so dramatic and just..good! The puzzles in RE4 are very good and sometimes, a little tricky! The guns were just great. they had so many you get find, or even buy from the merchant). i loved this game, and you will too. no doubt. right now it's 40 bucks, so get it! you will not regret it. perfect -10/10

After thoroughly playing through Resident Evil 4, I still think that Resident Evil 4 is one of the best from of the Resident Evil series. It's nice to see Capcom taking a step away from the regular zombies which they regularly use.

You play as Leon S. Kennedy. You'll probably recognize the name from Resident Evil 2. Your assignment is to rescue the daughter of the President of the United States. After which, Leon travels to Spain to search for Ashley. The odds of success are strictly stacked against Leon.

You'll encounter many scenarios similar to the Resident Evil series, including the infamous "Avoid the Lasers" from Resident Evil the Movie. You'll have to get through several puzzles, dodging several obstacles and events within the cut scenes to avoid a gruesome death.

There's more to this game than just shooting enemies, there is a fantastic storyline to this game, but I wouldn't recommend it to younger audiences.

I got this game yesterday, and already it is kicking a lot of ass. The action is already intense, and I know I'm am NO WHERE near the halfway point of the game.

Pros: Just about everything! Graphics, action, and enemy AI have never been better in the resident evil titles. Very few games out there can match the AI and action. The game even has a decent sense of humor, and the game challenges you from the start.

Cons: Saving is still not that easy. Though those annoying, horrendous ink ribbons are finally gone, you still need to find a typewriter to save the game. However, there are several located throughout the game. Like I said, the game challenges you... A LOT. This is one of the hardest games I have, and I own more than my fair share.

Overall, this game is easily the 2005 game of the year. If you have a gamecube and not this game, why? What are you waiting for? If you have a PS2, go out and get this NOW. I said the game was hard, but I, like many others, love a challenge. Though it may seem hasty to submit a comment the day after I get this game and haven't beaten it, this should give you the idea of how great it is.

10/10. Brilliant.